I didn't become a human today

When Ji Ran came back to his senses, there was still a little confusion in his expression.

"Strange..." He looked up at the ancient tea tree, the branches were empty and there was nothing there. Could it be that everything he saw just now was an illusion?

"What's wrong?" Liang Xingye was a little concerned. In fact, ever since Ji Ran entered the tea garden, his mental state was not quite right.

"It's nothing." Ji Ran turned around to leave, but suddenly caught something at the end of his eyes.

He quickly turned around and walked to the tea tree. This tea tree was very old. The trunk could not be said to be thick, but it was enough for two people to embrace.

Ji Ran noticed that there were three age-old scratches on the trunk of this tea tree.

Those three scratches were very deep, and Ji Ran stretched out his hand to touch it, and his whole body trembled.At that moment, he felt as if he had some kind of connection with this tree.Countless fragmentary pictures were quickly pieced together before his eyes.

Spring, summer, autumn and winter, the four seasons change.

As the tree grows, so does the nick.

The tea tree grows taller and taller, and the scratches become deeper year by year.

In the endless years, the century-old tea tree shook its body and let out bursts of crying. No one could hear the cry of a tea tree.Those nicks, like leeches, cling to its trunk, corroding the tree day after day.

pain……

it hurts……

"Ji Ran!" Liang Xingye's call made Ji Ran wake up again when he was absent-minded.

As if he had been scalded by something, he quickly withdrew his hand, rubbing his fingertips hidden between his sleeves, and there was still such a distinct pain in his fingertips.

At that moment, he felt that he had become one with the tree.

Ji Ran took a few steps back, "I...I'm going back to sleep."

Looking at the back of Ji Ran running away in a hurry, Liang Xingye became more and more uneasy.He stared at the three nicks on the trunk for a long time, a little puzzled. To him, these were just three ordinary nicks.

That night, Ji Ran had a strange dream.

There were many fragments in the dream, some he had never seen before, and some were pieced together from his previous memories. The world in the dream made him feel both familiar and strange.

He dreamed that he was smiling very happily, and he was standing under this tea tree. The sunlight shone through the gaps in the leaves and sprinkled on his face. The world became a bit dazzling, and the air was filled with the fragrance of tea.

Father Ji still looked like when he was young, standing in the yard and directing him, "Lean back, yes, go back further."

Until his back was completely attached to the trunk of the tea tree.

Father Ji took out a carving knife and carved a line on the tree trunk above his head.

Ji Ran ran out from under the tree with a smile on his face. Father Ji squinted his eyes, and compared with his hands, "I'm five years old, I'm only so tall, isn't my stature too small? I was stronger than this kid when I was five years old." too much!"

The old man drying the tea leaves beside him is the old housekeeper of the Ji family. He flipped through the tea leaves in the bamboo stick and stroked his beard, "Master, that tree is a century-old tea tree passed down from our ancestors. It can't be engraved..."

"Why can't it be engraved? I said I can engrave it. Nothing is as important as my son!"

The time wheel turned around, and the whole world also turned around before Ji Ran's eyes.

The light and shadow change from bright to dark, and from dark to bright again.

At the age of six, Ji Ran suffered from a serious illness, and his body has become weaker since then.It was the season of tea picking, and as in previous years, when Father Ji came to the tea garden to do business, he also came to the tea garden to recuperate.

"Father, let's see if I've grown a lot this year?" He stood under the tree with his back against the trunk. When he said this, he was slightly out of breath, his face was pale, and his lips were bloodless.

He knew that Father Ji's heart was a little heavy, but he never wanted to show it on his face.When facing him, he still looked extremely optimistic. With a light swipe of the carving knife, he pinched his thumb and index finger to calculate the distance from the last notch, "Well, my son has really grown taller this year. A lot!"

The world circled before his eyes again.

At the age of seven, Ji Ran lay dying on the bed. Through the window, he saw the ancient tea tree outside the window withering with the change of seasons.Father Ji's anxious voice came from under the tree, "No matter how much money is spent, my son's illness must be cured! Even if we sell this tea garden!"

The old butler persuaded him earnestly, "Master, this tea garden is the most important property of our Ji family. To take a step back, the tea trees outside don't matter, but this century-old tea tree cannot be sold. All the top-grade Kuding teas are sold." It comes from this century-old tea tree, the Ji family relied on this tree to make their fortune, and selling it would be tantamount to ruining the Ji family’s foundation! I know that the funds for the treatment of the young master will not be able to turn around for a while, but If we wait a little longer, in the spring of the next year, new buds will grow on the ancient tea trees, and we will have enough money to treat the young master..."

"But my son can't wait that long!" Father Ji almost gritted his teeth and said this sentence, "Sell it! Sell it now!"

As soon as the scene changed, the sky was covered with snow, and Ji Ran, who had recovered from his illness, was standing under the ancient tea tree in the courtyard again. The servants beside him came and went, busy packing their luggage.

The first snow that year fell heavily on the ground, and after a while, the tea trees were covered by heavy snow.He climbed the tree for a while, stood on the tall tree trunk, and saw the white hair on Ji's head and his frowning brow from another angle.

"Be careful, my ancestors, what are you doing climbing so high?"

He jumped down from the tree, landed firmly in the snow, and pulled the hem of La Ji's father's clothes, "Father, next spring, shall we still come here?"

Father Ji tried his best to cover up his sad expression, smiled and patted his head, "No, I won't come here again."

Ji Ran suddenly burst into tears, pointing to the two notches on the tree, "Then how do I know how much I grow each year?"

Father Ji comforted him and brought him under the tree, "I'm eight years old, and this year is the last time."

After that, he lightly scratched the top of his head with a carving knife, leaving a final notch on the tree trunk.

These memories, which had been almost completely forgotten by him, flooded into his memory again tonight along with the dream.

In the picture, the faces of some people have become clearer, and there are also some people who still cannot see their faces clearly.

For example, in Ji Ran's dream, there is always a voice crying under the tea tree at any time.

For another example, he dreamed of a wooden box that he had never seen before, and a deer looking back was pasted on the surface of the box with gold leaf.A pale hand handed over the wooden box to him, and Ji Ran stood where he was, holding the wooden box timidly, and asked the man, "Does it belong to me now?"

The man was surrounded by white light all over his body, and he couldn't see his face clearly, but his voice came out clearly, "No, just keep it for me. The first snow in the coming year will be our snow. Remember to return it to me on the appointed day."

"What if I forget? I've never had a good memory, you know."

"Then I will die." That voice said.